Growing in record time

Sprinkler systems on a wild ride: winterize to protect them

Cast your mind back in the not-so-distant past, to early October last year. The days were warm, the nights crisp, and frost nipped at gardens but the season was not yet at an end. Lulled by temperatures swinging from 21F to 88F, gardeners delayed the chores of putting the landscape to bed for winter.

Frozen backflow preventer - photo courtesy of ALCC.

Suddenly, the weather threw us a curve ball, plummeting temperatures to a chill 16 degrees on October 10. Plants froze, and so did sprinkler systems. Some were lucky, escaping harm to their pipes. Others didn’t see the damage until spring, when they started up their systems to water yards.

That’s when gushers erupted from backflow prevention valves (the brass valve on the outside of homes), cracked by water turning to ice in the sudden freeze. Calls to sprinkler companies skyrocketed, and homeowners shelled out $300 to $400 for repairs. Vows were made to never let this happen again.

But Mother Nature is having hot flashes, and our landscapes still need water. The resulting seesaw between day and nighttime temperatures are a roulette game for irrigation damage. But you can keep your system safe with a few tips from the Associated Landscape Contractors of Colorado .

– Wrap your backflow preventer for as long as you want to keep your system operational. Water in the preventer can freeze during cold snaps, so if you haven’t winterized your system when temperatures are due to dip, swaddle the backflow device with building insulation or towels, three to four inches thick, wrapping pipes all the way to the ground. Cover it all with plastic, then secure it with duct tape.

– Once you decide to put the landscape to bed, winterize the system by shutting off the water and draining the lines. Most systems in Colorado are designs that require blowout, but a few have manual or auto drains to remove water. Should you have one of these, consider blowing out the system anyway, since lines settle over time and low spots often develop that hold water.

– Have your system blown out with an air compressor. Even if you’re a do-it-yourselfer for most tasks, blowing out a sprinkler system should be left to the pros. A quick internet search for instructions on how to do this resulted in so many warnings shouted in bold, uppercase letters that it should be taken seriously. According to the Hunter Industries website, using an air compressor to blow out lines can result in flying debris, although they don’t say if it’s from sprinkler heads shooting up like rockets out of the lawn. The caution not to stand over the heads while they’re under pressure is an important safety tip.

To ensure your system is undamaged during blow out, look for a company with professionals certified by ALCC. These Landscape Industry Certified Technicians must complete over 2000 hours of practical experience and 10 hours of testing in order to meet the standards of best practices the certification requires.

Make your appointment soon, since October is a busy month for companies that offer winterization service. Expect the blow out to cost $50 to $100, but it can save you higher costs come spring.